DMC with Marana Lark
by pirateprincezz10113
Summary: Marana and Jack's love is shattered by distrust, betrayal, and a certain man in a white wig. Will their relationship pull through?
1. Lord Cutler Beckett

_**Dead Man's Chest with Marana Lark**_

**Lord Cutler Beckett**

Gale-force rain soaked the little town of Port Royal.

At the small chapel, Elizabeth Swann slumped on the sodden grass, clutching her bouquet of white flowers and trying to hold back the tears that spilled from her blue eyes. Elizabeth wore the most beautiful golden gown.

The girl just sat in the grass, until she heard heavy footsteps. She looked back to see a group of soldiers, with Will Turner and Marana Lark walking among them. The one thing wrong with the picture was that Will and Marana were in handcuffs. Will wore very fancy breeches and a navy blue coat; Marana wore a sea-foam green dress, for she was Elizabeth's maid of honor. Elizabeth ran up to her fiancé. "Will, why is this happening?"

He replied sadly, "I don't know…you look beautiful."

"I think it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

Someone was pushing through the crowd of guests. "Make way! Let me through!" It was Governor Swann. He was stopped by the axes of two soldiers crossing in front of his path. "How dare you!" He shouted at the man who was standing with his back to the crowd, "Stand your men down at once! Do you hear me?"

The man turned around. Marana stared at him. He had a white wig, he wore fancy clothes, and he was exactly her height. And he looked extremely mean.

"Governor Wetherby Swann, it's been too long." He said, sounding bored.

"Cutler Beckett?" asked Swann in confusion.

"It's Lord now, actually." he replied.

The axes separated and Swann stepped forward. "Lord or not, you have no reason and no authority to arrest this man and woman."

"In fact I do." he pointed out. "Mr. Mercer?" The man at his side handed him a stack of documents. He held up two of them. "…the warrants for the arrests of one William Turner and one Marana Lark."

Swann took both of them. He held up the one that was supposedly for Will and said, "This warrant is for Elizabeth Swann."

"Oh, is it? That's annoying…my mistake. Arrest her."

"On what charges?" cried Elizabeth as a pair of shackles was slapped around her wrists. Will tried to protect her, but had no luck in doing so.

Beckett forked over another document to Swann. "A-ha! Here's the one for William Turner. And I have another one for a Mr. James Norrington. Is he present?"

"What are the charges?" demanded Elizabeth.

"Commodore Norrington resigned his commission some months ago." informed Swann.

Beckett turned to face him. "I don't believe that was the answer to the question I asked."

"Lord Beckett!" Will spat. "In the category of questions not answered…"

Marana joined in, "We are under the jurisdiction of the king's governor of Port Royal."

"And you will tell us what we are charged with." Elizabeth finished.

Swann read the warrant aloud, "The charge…is conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the crown and empire…and condemned to death...for which…"

Beckett finished the statement for him, "…For which the punishment, regrettably, is also death."

He stepped forward, his cruel face somewhat closer to Marana's. "Perhaps you remember a certain pirate named Jack Sparrow."

"Captain!" spat the three prisoners.

"Captain Jack Sparrow." Marana repeated.

"Captain Jack Sparrow…yes, I thought you might." Beckett smirked wickedly.


	2. Bargain

**Bargain**

Will and Marana were brought to Beckett the following morning. When they were shoved into the office, Beckett gestured at their shackles. "Those won't be necessary," he mumbled.

He poured three glasses of some kind of liquor. It made Marana remember the night she and Jack and Elizabeth had been marooned on a desert island. The girls had gotten Jack drunk and planned their escape. Marana refused when one of the glasses was offered to her. Beckett spoke directly to them.

"The East India Trading Company has need of your services."

He crossed the room to the fireplace. "We wish for you to act as our agents in a business transaction with our mutual friend, Captain Sparrow."

"More acquaintance than friend…" contradicted Will. "How do you know him?"

Beckett picked up the branding iron that lay in the ashes and stared at it. "We've had dealings in the past, and we've each left our mark on the other."

Marana arched her eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'dealings'?" She received a sharp glare from the lord. Then she remembered something Jack had told her. "Do you mean that awhile back, Jack freed a bunch of slaves that he was supposed to deliver to you, and then you branded him, and you've hated each other ever since?" Beckett glared at her ever harder. She knew it was time to shut up.

"What mark did her leave on you?" asked Will.

Beckett walked over to his desk, still glaring at his female captive. "By your efforts, Jack Sparrow was set free. I would like you to go to him and recover a certain property in his possession."

"Recover? At the point of a sword?" asked Marana.

"Bargain," replied the lord. He pulled two documents from his desk. Each was surrounded by a thick leather wallet. "Letters of Marque…you will offer what amounts to a full pardon. Jack will be free, a privateer in the employ of England."

Marana arched her eyebrow again, something she was famous for. "Somehow I doubt Jack will consider employment the same as being free."

"Freedom," muttered Beckett. He walked out onto the balcony, followed by Will and Marana.

"Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. The world is shrinking, and the blank edges of the map filled in. Jack must find his place in the New World or perish."

Then he turned to the pair standing beside him. "Not unlike you, Miss Lark, and Mr. Turner. You and Elizabeth Swann all face the hangman's noose."

Will was thinking. "So you get both Jack and the _Black Pearl_."

"The _Black Pearl_?" inquired the lord.

"The property you want that he possesses." replied Marana.

"A ship? Hardly. The item in question is considerably smaller and far more valuable, something Sparrow keeps on his person at all times, a compass?" Beckett looked at his prisoners.

Marana had a wistful look on her face as she gazed out at the bay.

"Ah, you know it." he smirked. He stepped a little closer and whispered, "Bring back that compass, or there's no deal."


	3. The Pelegostos

**The Pelegostos**

Marana met Will on the docks later that day to leave for Tortuga, where they would start their search for Jack. She was dressed in a very piraty outfit: baggy, forest green shirt; long black pants; tight brown vest; battered, black tricorn hat; and, of course, the string of rubies that Jack had given her on Isla de Muerta. She had to admit that the rubies were a little out of place, but she refused to leave home without them.

At every island they stopped at, they got utterly pitiful responses from the locals when they asked of Jack Sparrow.

A humble sailor loading cargo onto a ship had told them: "Captain Jack Sparrow? He owes me four doubloons. I heard he was dead."

A fisherman had told him: "Singapore, that's what I heard. Drunk with a smile on his face. Sure as the tide, Jack Sparrow will turn up in Singapore."

When they reached Tortuga, Scarlet and Giselle were there to see them.

"Jack Sparrow?" inquired Giselle.

"I haven't seen him in a month." said Scarlet.

"When you find him, will you give him a message?" Giselle slapped Will hard across the face and kicked Marana in the shins.

Finally, someone gave them a satisfactory answer. A black trader was fixing a net on the docks while he said to them. "Cannot say about Jack Sparrow, but there's an island, just south of the straights; where I trade spice for…mmm…delicious long pork. Cannot say about Jack, but there's a ship there: a ship with black sails."

When they arrived at the island, another man rowed them towards the shore. However, he stopped a few hundred feet away. Marana asked, annoyed, "What's wrong? The beach is right there."

The man spoke in French, which Marana barely understood. She and Will simply dove over the edge of the boat and staggered onto the beach. The _Pearl _was wedged in the sand, and the tide was out. Marana called out,

"Jack! Jack Sparrow!"

Will joined in, "Marty! Cotton! Anybody?" The pair began to wander into the thick foliage. They came upon Cotton's parrot.

"Awk! Don't eat me!"

"I'm not going to eat you." said Will in confusion.

They walked deeper into the jungle. Marana noticed a hip flask tied to a branch. She saw a trail of thin rope leading further into the jungle. It was when the trail ended that they fell into a trap.

Both were hoisted into the air, by means of ropes attached to high branches of trees. Various warriors of some tribe were gathered around them. Will and Marana hauled out their swords and began swinging at the warriors.

In a few seconds, both were unconscious and poisonous darts stuck out of their necks.

- - - - - - -

In a matter of minutes, Marana and Will woke up. They were trussed to long bamboo poles, and they looked dead. Marana looked up, squinted, and saw Jack, except that he sat on an ornate throne covered in feathers and bones, he was surrounded by the natives, and he was staring hard at her.

Will had seen Jack as well. He spoke out, "Jack! Jack Sparrow! I can honestly say I'm glad to see you!" Jack got up and walked towards Will.

"Jack! It's me, Marana Lark!" he pretended to be clueless of who she was. He turned to the natives.

"Bah-say-koh!"

A large member of the crowd replied, "Een-dah-la. Eeseepi."

"Eeseepi," the crowd murmured in agreement.

Marana begged to Jack, "Tell them to let us down!"

Jack turned to the natives. "Kay-lay lam, lam piki-piki, lam meensi-weensi. Lam say-say…" he knelt next to Will and examined him up close. "…eunuchy, snip-snip." He made a scissor motion with his fingers.

"Ah…eunuchy." said the crowd.

Marana began pleading again. "Jack! The compass! That's all that we need!"

Will joined in, "Elizabeth is in danger! She and Marana and I were arrested for trying to help you. She faces the gallows!"

Jack came to a stop and turned around, addressing the large native again. "Say-say lam shoop-shoop sha smalay-lama shoo-koo. Savvy? Ball licky-licky."

"Ball licky-licky!" shouted the native.

"Ball licky-licky!" the crowd responded.

The natives began to chant as they hoisted the rods holding Will and Marana up onto their shoulders. She shouted back.

"Jack! What did you tell them? Jack!"

Will was shouting too. "Jack! What about Elizabeth? Jack!"

Before Marana disappeared, she screamed something at Jack. "You said you loved me!"

All Jack was left with was a terrible feeling that he had jut lost the girl he loved.


	4. Marana the Goddess

**Marana the Goddess**

Jack had to make a quick choice. He went up to the native that was carrying Marana's rod. After muttering something in the native language, the native cut the ropes binding Marana to the rod. She fell to the ground. The native left. When the coast was clear, Jack offered Marana his hand. She refused to take it and got up on her own. She glared hard at Jack. They stood in silence like that for a while; Marana glared at Jack, and Jack looked sadly at her.

Finally, Jack reached out and hugged her. Her glare was broken. She had found Jack. Her arms found his shoulders, and she leaned against him. He whispered in her ear, "I love you, Marana." She struggled from his grasp and came face-to-face with him.

"Oh, really?" she hissed. He looked confused.

Her voice was dangerously low, like it was when she was way beyond furious. "Jack…if you love me, then why didn't you let me go before? You acted like you didn't know me! And why won't you help Will and Elizabeth?" She was almost shouting.

He took a deep breath. "Marana…I…" but he couldn't finish. Tears were dripping from her eyes. He couldn't bear to see her crying. He took her into his arms again. "Marana…love…I was just really confused. These people consider me their chief. Soon, they plan to kill me."

"WHAT?" shouted Marana, as she backed away from him. Her tears were gone, but a horrid look of fear was etched across her face. "They're going to kill you?"

He rested his hands on her shoulders, like he had done when they first met. "Love, they think I'm a god, and they want to 'release my spirit', which includes killing me in a brutal way."

She was scared to death. "How will they kill you?" she uttered in a tiny little voice.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I do."

He whispered slightly, "Well…these people are cannibals and they…" Before he could finish, there was a thump.

Marana had fainted.

Jack knelt next to her and lifted her up. He carried her over to his throne and muttered to himself, "She's going to die with me, so I should at least make look more like one of them."

Later, when Marana woke up, Jack sat over her, smiling. She sat up and looked around. They were in another part of the island, surrounded by foliage. She smiled up at Jack and then looked down at her arms. They were bare.

She looked down at her legs. She was in an animal-skin dress. The sleeves went off her shoulders, and the skirt reached her knees. It was made of patches of brown and black and white. She touched her hair and felt something there. Her dark brown locks were tied in messy cornrow braids, and bones hung at the bottom of each braid. Jack was smiling, but she felt weird.

"Jack, what did you do to me?" She stared him down.

His smile didn't break. "I made you look more like a native. And it does make you look more striking."

She stood up. Bone jewelry hung all over her body. Jack was grinning from ear to ear. She stood on tiptoe and gave him a little peck on the cheek. Then she linked arms with Jack, and the two walked back to the throne. The natives were preparing a fire pit. As they lay wood in a small pile, Jack shouted,

"Oup! No, no! Oi! No, no! More wood! Big fire! Big fire! I am chief! Want big fire! Come on! Oi! Maboogie snickel-snickel. Tout de suite! Come on! More wood!" He glanced over at Marana. "Let's go!" he mouthed to her. When no one was looking, they ran off into the foliage. Holding hands, they sprinted across a long wooden bridge and came to a group of huts. As Jack went into one of them, Marana gazed down the cliff they were standing over. She could see way down into a tremendously deep valley. When Jack came back out, he was holding a long length of rope and a jar of paprika. She turned around and gasped.

They were surrounded by natives.

Jack stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh, bugger."

Then he dropped the rope and began dusting himself with the spice. "Little seasoning, eh?"

A few minutes later, Jack was tied to a bamboo rod, dangling over the fire pit. Nearby, Marana was tied to a vertical post. Jack looked down into the pit. "Well done," he muttered to the natives.

The warriors encircled Jack. One of them held a torch dangerously close to the wood. Suddenly, a boy ran up to the circle. He was shouting.

Jack replied, "Well, go on, go get them! Hay alla!"

"Hay alla!" the crowd ran off to where the boy had come from. The torch fell to the ground. The sparks blew onto the wood. He began blowing, but he only succeeded in feeding the flames. "Not good," he whined.

Marana had managed to free herself. She tried to untie Jack from the post. She shrieked in pain when she burned her arm.

Jack began bouncing up and down, soon causing the post to jump over its supports. He crashed to the ground. Taking Marana's hand, he whispered, "Come on, me goddess."

They dashed away from the fire, running back to the cliff they had just been to. Seeing a native boy standing before them, they ran in another direction, coming face-to-face with two women, holding bowls of fruit. They began hurling the fruits at Jack and Marana. Marana ducked to the ground. When she stood back up, Jack's post was covered with fruit, making him look like a kebab.

She stifled a laugh and pulled Jack over to the cliff edge. Before she could think properly, she clung to Jack as he pole-vaulted across the valley. He landed safely, but then he heard screaming. Marana had fallen over the edge. He slipped off as well.

The two were falling. Since Jack was heavier, he caught up with her, clutching her to him as best he could. They crashed through many of the wooden bridges. The pole soon became caught between the two cliff sides. The rope untied itself, and they dangled upside-down from the pole.

"Bugger," muttered Jack. The pole came loose, and they were falling again. Eventually, they lay side-by-side on the ground. Marana saw the pole coming down towards them. Without second thought, she rolled on top of Jack as the pole thudded to the ground right where she had just been laying. The fruit from the post rained down on top of them.

Jack sat up. With Marana on his lap, he grabbed her and held her in a choking embrace. She was almost gasping for air when he let go. They stood up and faced the natives that were charging towards them.


	5. Marana the Betrayer

**Marana the Betrayer**

"Run." whispered Jack as he took Marana's trembling hand and ran towards the beach. With the natives chasing them, they ran as fast as they possibly could. If Marana had not held Jack's hand so tightly, she would never have kept up. Finally, they reached the _Pearl, _which was almost sailing off. When they reached the beach, they hurried through the water and came to the ladder on the side of the ship. With Marana clinging to his shoulders, he turned and called to the natives,

"Alas, my children, this is the day you will always remember as the day that you almost-" a wave crashed against his back, washing away his words. "-Captain Jack Sparrow." he finished off and climbed aboard the ship. After helping Marana up, Gibbs approached him.

"Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea!"

Jack replied quickly, "Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible."

"Uh, that seems contradictory, captain."

"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Mater Gibbs, now where is that monkey? I want to shoot something." As he pulled out his pistol, Will approached him from behind.

"Jack, Elizabeth is in danger."

Jack sounded bored, "Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her? Maybe just lock her up somewhere." He walked up to the helm. Marana called out as she followed him. "She is locked up in a prison, and bound to hang for helping you!"

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes."

Marana had enough. She pulled Will's sword out of his belt and slapped it onto Jack's shoulder. "We need that compass of yours, Jack."

"We must trade it for her freedom," Will joined in.

Jack, glaring suspiciously at Marana, moved the sword from his shoulder and walked to the wheel. He called out, "Mr. Gibbs!"

"Captain!" replied the first mate.

Jack smiled. "We have a need to travel upriver."

"By need, do you mean a …trifling need, a fleeting, as in, say, a passing fancy?"

Will interrupted, "What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste!" They stood on either side of Jack at the helm. He sighed and pulled something out of his pocket.

"William…Marana…I shall trade to you the compass if you will help me to find…this." he unfolded a piece of cloth, which he spread out before them. On it was a drawing of a double-stemmed key.

Will and Marana stared at the cloth. "You want us to find this?" inquired Marana.

Jack rolled his eyes. "No, you want you to find this, because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovery the detecting of a way to save your little friend, ol what's-her-face. Savvy?"

Marana looked at Jack quizzically. "This is going to save Elizabeth?"

Jack leaned a little closer to her. "How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

"Not much." she replied.

"Yeah, it's going to save Elizabeth."

He turned on Marana, but she had disappeared. He looked at Will. "Have you any idea where Marana has gone?"

Will replied, "She said something about changing out of that horrid dress. She's in your cabin." Jack immediately went to his cabin door.

After a few knocks, he called, "Marana? Marana, love!" The door opened sharply, and an obviously angry Marana pulled him inside. She was in a silken blue dress, and her braids were now a frizzy mess of dark hair that was tied into a ponytail. She glared hard at Jack. "How could you do it, Jack?"

"Um…do what, love?" Marana softened a little bit.

"How could you just leave Lizzie in the dust?"

"Love, it was her choice to help me, and therefore her responsibility to get out of jail."

"You're a cruel man, Jack Sparrow!" She slapped him across the face and stormed out of the cabin. Before she slammed the door, she looked back. "By the way, as of a few days ago, I am in the employ of the East India Company."


	6. Tia Dalma

**Tia Dalma**

The ship dropped anchor at a large and foliated island.

They traveled on boats, down a quiet river, into the cypress forest. Marana sat with Will and Gibbs. She refused to speak to Jack, or even make eye contact with him. She felt like she had betrayed him, but after refusing to help her best friend, he deserved it.

After a while, Marana had to ask something. "Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?"

"Well," began Gibbs. "If you believe such things, there's a beast that does the bidding of Davy Jones, a fearsome creature with giant tentacles that'll suction your face clean off, and drag an entire ship down to the crushing darkness: the Kraken!"

When Marana arched an eyebrow, Gibbs continued, "They say the stench of its breath is like…ugh…imagine, the last thing you know on God's green earth is the roar of the Kraken and the reeking odor of a thousand rotting corpses, if you believe such things."

"And the key will spare him that?" asked Will.

Gibbs lowered his voice. "Now, that's the very question Jack wants answered, bad enough, even, to go visit…her."

"Her?" Will was a bit fearful.

"Aye."

The little trio of boats reached a hut in the middle of the forest, with a ladder reaching down into the water. Jack stepped onto the tiny dock. "No worries, mates," he assured. "Tia Dalma and I go way back, thick as thieves. Nigh unseperable, we are…were…have been."

"I'll watch your back," Gibbs declared.

"It's me front I'm worried about," Jack replied with uncertainty. Gibbs turned to the rest.

"Mind the boat."

The message was passed along the crew, until Cotton was left to mind the boat. The group climbed the ladder and edged into the hut. Marana wanted to be sick when she saw the inside. Jars hung everywhere, holding everything from pickled eyes to hair to even grosser things. She shuddered as she saw a woman bent over a small table.

"Jack Sparrow…" she gazed almost lovingly at Jack. He smiled as brightly as possible.

"Tia Dalma…"

The gypsy got up and walked up to him. "…I always knew the wind was going to blow you back to me one day."

Then she spotted Will and Marana. "You two…you have a touch a destiny about you, William Turner…Marana Lark."

Marana stepped back as Will inquired, "You know me?"

"You want to know me?" Tia Dalma ran a finger down his face. Jack stepped between the two.

"There'll be no knowing here. We've come for help and we're not leaving without it. I thought I knew you," He led the gypsy to the small table. She sat down.

"Not so well as I had hoped, come."

"Come," echoed Jack.

Will sat down beside Tia Dalma. She swept her hand down his face.

"What service may I do you?" she inquired before looking up at Jack. "You know I demand payment."

"I brought payment." Jack took a cage from Pintel and set it on the table. It contained the cursed monkey. He said, "Look." He pulled out his pistol and shot it. It didn't die. "An undead monkey…top that." he remarked.

Tia Dalma opened the cage and let the monkey out.

"No," whined Gibbs. "You've no idea how long it took us to catch that."

She ignored him and pushed the empty cage off to the side. "The payment is fair."

Marana pulled the drawing of the key out of her pocket and spread it out on the table. "We're looking for this…and what it goes to." The gypsy looked accusingly up at Jack.

"The compass you bartered from me…it cannot lead you to this?"

"Maybe…why?" Jack said defensively.

"Ah…Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants! Or…do you know…but loath to claim it as your own?"

She stood up. "Your key go to a chest, and it is what lay inside the chest you seek, don't it?"

"What is inside?" asked Gibbs.

"Gold? Jewels? Unclaimed properties of a valuable nature?" asked Pintel with wide, greedy eyes.

"Nothing…bad, I hope." Ragetti pointed out with uncertainty.

Tia Dalma smiled widely. "You know of Davy Jones…yes?"

Everyone just stared at the gypsy.

Tia Dalma continued, "A man of the sea, a great sailor, until he ran afoul of that which vex all men."

"What vexes all men?" asked Will.

"What, indeed." Tia Dalma stroked his hand.

"Uh…the sea?" blurted Gibbs.

"Sums?" Pintel blurted immediately after.

"The dichotomy of good and evil?" Everyone looked at Ragetti like he was stupid.

"A woman," Jack rolled his eyes and glanced nervously at Marana. Jack thought he saw a flicker of a smile in her lips.

"A woman," repeated Tia Dalma. "He fell in love." Jack and Marana stepped closer to each other.

"No, no, no, no, no, I heard it was the sea he fell in love with." Gibbs interrupted.

Tia Dalma snapped, 'Same story, different versions, and all are true." She continued in a softer tone, "See, it was a woman, as changing and harsh and untamable as the sea. Him never stopped loving her. But the pain it cause him was too much to live with, but not enough to cause him to die."

Marana turned to the gypsy. "What exactly did he put into the chest?"

"Him heart," she crossed her hand over her heart.

"Literally…or figuratively?" asked Ragetti.

"It was not worth feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings…and so, him carve out him heart, lock it away in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. The key: he keep with him at all times."

"You knew this," Marana and Will glared at Jack.

The captain looked surprised. "I did not. I didn't know where the key was. But now we do. So all that's left is to climb aboard the _Flying Dutchman_, grab the key, you go back to Port Royal, and save your bonnie lass, eh?"

Tia Dalma stood up. "Let me see your hand."

Jack reluctantly held his hand out to the gypsy. She slowly untied the cloth that covered. Marana gasped when she saw what lay underneath. It was the Black Spot.

Gibbs, Pintel, and Ragetti started jumping around and dusting themselves off.

Jack pointed out, "My eyesight's as good as ever, just so you know."

Tia Dalma went into another room and came out with a jar. "Davy Jones cannot make port, cannot step on land but once every ten years. Land is where you are safe, Jack Sparrow. And so you will carry land with you." She handed him the jar. His looked at it with dissatisfaction.

"Dirt," he remarked. "This is a jar of dirt."

"Yes." she replied.

"Is the…jar of dirt going to help?"

She put a serious look on her face. "If you don't want it, give it back."

"No."

"Then it helps."

Marana stepped between the two. "It seems we have a need to find the _Flying Dutchman._"

Tia Dalma sat at her table, grabbed a handful of crab claws, muttered something, and threw them down on the table. Reading their position, she easily found the location of the ship.


	7. Captured

**Captured**

It was storming heavily when the _Pearl _found the _Dutchman. _

Jack, Marana, and Will looked out at a ship in the distance. "That's the _Flying Dutchman_?" asked Marana. She had changed from her blue dress to a set of baggy sailor's clothes. When she noticed Jack's uncertain nod, Will added,

"She doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you," Jack retorted. "Do not underestimate her." He paused before inquiring, "What's your plan, then?"

Marana replied in annoyance, "I go over and search the ship until I find your bloody key."

"And if there are crewmen?" asked Jack.

"I cut down anyone in my path." she replied with more confidence than she actually had.

"I like it," said Jack. "It's simple, and easy to remember."

She climbed down into the boat that waited for her in the water. As she started rowing, Jack called after her, "Oi, if you do happen to get captured, just tell them Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt! It might save your life."

Marana rowed over to the other ship, which lay in two large pieces. She climbed out of the boat and onto the crushed deck. She spotted a bloody and dirty sailor tugging on a rope.

"Hoisting the jib, Captain's orders…" he muttered. She ran up to him.

"Sailor!" she called out. "Sailor! There's no use, you've run aground."

He turned, and Marana saw him shaking with fear. "No…beneath us…foul breath."

Suddenly, a body fell to the deck in front of her. When she leaned over to look at it, she saw suction marks all over its body, proving true what Gibbs had said about the Kraken.

She approached the rail and saw the water bubbling. A ship burst through the surface, crashing to the surface. She suddenly realized that she wasn't on the _Flying Dutchman_, and became uncertain of what she had been dragged into.

The crew of the _Flying Dutchman _began to board. They were a truly horrifying lot. Each one was slimy and covered with barnacles. Marana tried to get back to the boat she had come in, but she was cut off by one of the crewmen.

"Down on your marrowbones and pray!" he commanded, waving a pair of chain cannonballs around. She tactfully jumped over him and pulled out her sword. She dueled with the monster for a while, before spotting something: a barrel of whale oil. Quickly, she dipped her blade in the oil and smashed it into a lantern. She swung her flaming blade at anyone who stood in her way. A circle of the crewmen formed around her. One of them knocked her on the side of the head, and she fell to the deck, unconscious.

When she woke up, her head was throbbing, and she was kneeling in a line along with four men. She looked up and saw a figure walking along the line. He was tall, had a lobster claw for a left arm, had a peg-leg instead of a regular right leg, and had a scary beard of octopus tentacles. She knew it was Davy Jones.

One of the crew members, Jones' first mate named Maccus, spoke in a raspy tone to his captain, "Four men and a woman still alive; the rest have moved on."

Jones keeled in front of one of the men and lit a pipe, which he stuck into his mouth. "Do you fear death?" he snarled. The sailor, shaking too hard to respond, said nothing. "Do you fear that dark abyss, with all your deeds laid bare, and all your sins punished?" When the sailor nodded, Jones laughed a little. "I can offer you an escape."

"Don't listen to him!" shouted a sailor at the end of the line, clutching a rosary between his folded hands. Jones proceeded to him, asking, "Do you not fear death?"

"I'll take my chances, sir." the man said.

"To the depths," snarled Jones.

Maccus slit his throat with a knife and threw him overboard. One of the sailors blurted out,

"Cruel blackguard!"

Jones snuffed out his pipe, "Life is cruel. Why should the afterlife be any different? I offer you a choice. Join my crew and postpone the judgment. One hundred years before the mast; will ye serve?" The sailors shook their heads vigorously.

"I-I will serve." they all said.

"There, then," Jones proceeded down the line, stopping when he saw Marana. "You are neither dead nor dying. What is your purpose here?" he demanded.

"JackSparrowsentmetosettlehisdebt." she said very fast.

"_What _is your purpose here?" Jones repeated.

"Jack Sparrow…sent me to settle his debt." she said more slowly.

"Did he, now…well I'm sorely tempted to accept that offer."

Marana glanced over at the _Pearl, _wishing she hadn't agreed to find the key in the first place.


	8. One Hundred Souls

**One Hundred Souls**

For a while, Marana and the sailors just sat in utter silence, watching as Jones argued with Jack. They were close enough to hear everything.

"You have a debt to pay," Jones stood in front of Jack. "You've been captain of the _Black Pearl _for thirteen years. That was our agreement."

Jack smiled nervously. "Technically, I was only captain for two years. Then, I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless." Jones snarled. "Have you not introduced yourself all these years as Captain Jack Sparrow?"

Jack thought of Marana. "You have my payment: one soul to serve on your ship is already over there."

"One soul is not always equal to another."

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Jack. "So we just establish the proposal, and now we're just haggling over price!"

"Price?" Jones was confused.

Jack stepped closer. "Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

Jones thought a while before saying, "One hundred souls…in three days."

Jack smiled widely. "You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the girl and I'll get started right off."

"I keep the girl!" Jones growled. "A good-faith payment…and that leaves you only ninety-nine more to go."

Jack smirked. "Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano – worth at least four, or maybe three and a half. And did I happen to mention…he's in love…with a girl…due to be married….betrothed? Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in the bonds of holy matrimony."

"I keep the girl," said Jones.

"No!" Will stepped up. "I'll go in her place. She won't be able to handle it."

Jones scowled before saying, "I keep the boy, and the girl gets returned." When Will was rowed over to the _Dutchman _and Marana was returned to the _Pearl_, Jones asked, "But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man, a friend, to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?"

"Yup, I'm good with it! Shall we seal it in blood…uh…or…ink?" Jack smiled.

Jones grabbed his hand, growling, "Three days," he pulled his arm back and disappeared, along with his crew. The _Flying Dutchman _sailed off.

Jack just stood, staring at his hand, which was now covered in slime.

"Uh…Mr. Gibbs?" he called out.

"Captain!" Gibbs stood at his side.

"Uh…I feel sullied and unusual…" Jack slurred.

"And how do intend to harvest these ninety-nine souls in three days?" asked the first mate.

"Fortunately, he was mum as to the condition in which these souls need be."

"Aye. Tortuga?"

"Tortuga!" Jack wiped his hand on Gibbs' vest.

Jack then walked up to the helm. Marana followed him.

"Jack, why did you want _me _to go and get the key?" she demanded.

"I don't know, love." he replied sadly.

For a while, they just stood in complete silence. Marana broke the silence.

"Jack, I'm sorry."

Jack looked puzzled. "What for, love?"

"…for everything lately…I mean, for agreeing to trade the compass for the key, you really are helping Elizabeth. I'm just really sorry, Jack." He saw a tear drip down her face. He smiled sadly and pulled her to him. She buried her face in his shoulder and cried gently. She didn't even know why she was crying. All she knew was that she was in Jack's arms again.

"Apology accepted, darling." he kissed her forehead. They hugged each other again.


	9. Souls for Sale

**Souls for Sale**

"And what makes you think you're worthy enough to crew the _Black Pearl_?" Marana asked the sailor that stood in front of her at the Faithful Bride tavern in Tortuga.

"As you can tell, I've never sailed a day in me life. I figure I should get out and see the world while I'm still young."

"You'll do," said Gibbs, folding his hands on the table. "Make your mark." the sailor signed the paper on the table and walked away. "Next!" he called out.

The next man in the line walked up. "My wife ran off with my dog…" he began. "…and I'm drunk for a month…and I don't give an ass rat's if I live or die."

"Perfect! Next!" Marana exclaimed.

The next sailor approached. "Me have one arm and a bum leg," he said.

"It's the crow's nest for you." smiled Gibbs. "Next!"

The last man came up. "Ever since I was a little lad, I've always wanted to sail the seas…forever."

"Sooner than you think; sign the roster." said Marana.

"Thanks very much." he grinned as he signed his name.

As she sat next to Jack, he called out, "How're we going?"

"Including those four, that gives us…four." replied Marana.

Another man stepped up to the table. "And what's your story?" asked Gibbs.

Marana wanted to scream. She knew who the man was.

"My story…" began the man. "It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life." He took a long swig from a bottle of rum.

"Commodore?" inquired Marana.

"No, no anymore, weren't you listening?" James snapped. He pointed a finger at Gibbs. "I nearly had you all of Tripoli. I would have, if not for the…hurricane."

"Lord," said Gibbs. "You didn't try to sail through it?"

"So, do I make your crew or not?" threatened James. "You haven't said where you're going, somewhere nice!" he flipped over the table. Marana helped Gibbs get up and glared at James.

James had everyone's attention now. "So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow…or should I just kill you now?" he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Jack, who was trying to slip away.

Marana quickly stood between them. "James, don't shoot!" When he stared intently at her, she asked, "How's Julie?" she was referring to her older sister.

James answered sadly, "I almost proposed to her…but then I had to go after Jack Sparrow!"

Jack poked his head out from behind a pole. "You're hired!" he smiled.

James cocked the pistol. "Sorry…old habits and all that…" Just as he was about to fire, Marana grabbed his arm and pulled it away. His shot hit a mug of rum that a man was holding, and a huge fight broke out. Jack shouted to Gibbs,

"Time to go!"

Marana drew her sword and started dueling with a bunch of pirates. Then she crossed swords with Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth!" she cried out as she hugged her friend. Elizabeth was in sailors' clothes as well.

They couldn't say anything else, because there was so much fighting. Finally, the girls and James were all cornered at a pole.

James was flailing his sword around madly. "Alright, then, who wants some? Form an orderly line, and I'll have you all one by one! Come on, who's first?" Marana angrily grabbed the bottle of rum from his hand and smashed it over his head. When the crowd stared at her, she said proudly,

"I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself!" The crowd cheered and saluted her. Then they all threw James into the pig sty.

Elizabeth approached him slowly and helped him get up. "James Norrington, what has the world done to you?"


	10. The Compass

**The Compass**

Marana, Elizabeth, and James all walked down to the _Pearl_, Marana having to hold James' arm so he wouldn't collapse.

"Captain Sparrow!" Elizabeth called out. They had reached the ship.

Jack turned around, "Have you come to join me crew, lad? Welcome aboard!"

She said in annoyance, "I'm here to find the man I love!" Marana let go of James, so he could throw up over the side of the dock. She walked over to Jack.

Jack stopped in his tracks. "I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea."

Elizabeth was a little angry. "…meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow."

Jack turned around, coming face-to-face with Marana. After pushing her off to the side, he saw the owner of the voice. "Elizabeth?" He turned to Gibbs. "Hide the rum." he whispered.

He turned back to Elizabeth, "You know, these clothes do not flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. I happen to have no dress in my cabin." Marana teased,

"Yes, you do. I was wearing one just yesterday."

"Shut up, love." he elbowed her sharply.

"Jack!" Elizabeth got his attention again. "I know Will and Marana came to find you. I see Marana is right there, but where is Will?"

Jack sighed, "Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circumstances that have nothing whatsoever to do with me, poor Will has been press-ganged into Davy Jones' crew." Marana angrily kicked him in the shins, causing him to almost fall face-first onto the dock.

"Davy Jones?" inquired Elizabeth in confusion.

"Oh, please," interrupted James. "The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_?" Jack stared at him.

"You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"You hired me," James pointed out. "I can't help it if your standards are lax."

"You smell funny," said Jack.

"Jack!" Marana kicked him again. He turned back to Elizabeth.

"All I want is to find Will." she said sadly.

Jack smirked. "Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?"

"Of course!" she almost shouted.

He stepped closer. "…because I would think, that you would want to find a way to save Will most."

"And you'd have a way of doing that?" Marana stood next to her friend.

"Well…" Jack began. "…there is a chest…a chest of unknown size and origin-"

"What contains the still-beating heart of Davy Jones!" said Pintel as he and Ragetti loaded cargo onto the ship.

Jack smiled. "And whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants…including saving brave William from his grim fate."

"How do we find it?" asked Elizabeth.

"With this." Jack pulled out his compass and held it before her. "My compass is unique."

"'Unique' here having the meaning of 'broken'." James interrupted.

Jack ignored him. "True enough, this compass does not point north."

"Where does it point?" Elizabeth pressed on.

"It points to the thing you want most in this world." replied Jack.

"Oh, Jack," Elizabeth sighed. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Every word, love." he placed the compass in her hand. "And what you want most in this world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?"

"To save Will!" Elizabeth corrected him.

"By finding the chest of Davy Jones." Jack opened the compass and stepped back.

The dial spun and settled in one direction. Jack peeked over her shoulder and shouted, "Mr. Gibbs!"

"Captain!" Gibbs stepped down from the ship.

"We have our heading!" replied the captain.

"Finally! Cast off those lines! Weigh anchor and crowd that canvas!" commanded Gibbs to the crew.

Jack held out his hand for Marana. "Miss Lark," he muttered.

Pintel shoved a goat into James' hands. "Welcome to the crew, former commodore!"


	11. Letters of Marque

**Letters of Marque**

The following morning, when the crew was washing the decks, Marana spotted James. She kneeled next to him. He nearly fell back when he saw her.

"Oh, God, Marana, you scared me! What do you want?"

"I want to ask you something." she replied.

"Not now…" he grumbled and went back to his work. When he saw that Marana wasn't moving, he sighed. "Alright, what?"

"How is Julie doing?" she was a little scared for her sister.

James looked up at her. "I was about to propose to her, but then I found out that I had to go out to sea. She was utterly heartbroken. The last I saw her, she was in tears." Marana drew back a little.

James took a deep breath before continuing, "She admitted that she loves me." Marana nodded. He added, "She said she would have my hide if I didn't find out about you." the two burst into fits of laughter. James went back to work, saying, "That's all you need to hear. Let me get back to work!" She stood up and walked away.

She saw Jack holding something, and Gibbs and Elizabeth stood on either side.

"Beckett?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes, they're signed, by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company." replied Elizabeth.

Gibbs realized something, "Will and Marana were working for Beckett and they never said a word. Beckett wants the compass, and there's only one reason for that."

"Of course," said Jack. "He wants the chest."

"Yes, he did say something about a chest." Elizabeth said, puzzled.

Gibbs was nervous, "If the company controls the chest, they controls the sea."

Jack smiled sadly. "A truly discomfiting notion, love."

"And bad." Gibbs spat out. "Bad for every mother's son what calls himself a pirate." He looked around the ship. "I think there's a bit more speed to be coxed from these sails. Brace the foreyard!"

Jack rounded on Elizabeth, who now had Marana at her side. "Might I inquire as to how you came be these?" he asked.

"Persuasion," she snapped.

"Friendly?" he stepped closer.

"Decidedly not," said Marana.

Jack smirked at her. "You and Will strike a deal for these and uphold it with honor, yet Lizzie is the one standing here with the prize. Full pardon…" he looked at the Letters of Marque in his hand. "…commission as a privateer in the employ of England and the East India Trading Company." He tucked the documents into his coat pocket. "As if I could be bought for such a low price."

"Jack," Elizabeth grabbed his arm. "The letters, give them back."

"No." he said.

Marana gently nudged her friend away. "I'll take care of this." She looked Jack straight in the eye. "Jack, give the letters back to Elizabeth."

"No." he teased. "Persuade me."

From behind him, she rested her head on his shoulder, her face right nest to his. "You do know that I know how to handle a sword?"

"As I said," he turned around. "Persuade me."

She came very close to kissing him. She turned on her heel and stalked away. She leaned on the rail next to Elizabeth, a wide smile crawling across her face.

"I knew it, Marana." her friend teased.

"What?" Marana's smile would not fade.

"You're in love with Jack."

"Ssh!" Marana hissed. "And what if I am? I don't want him to overhear!"

Elizabeth nodded and walked off, with Marana not sure whether her secret was safe.


	12. Moments

**Moments**

Marana sat glumly on the stairs, staring out at the sea. Jack, because he happened to walk by, sat down next to her, leaning into her a little. He said seductively, "My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled."

She looked at him sadly and replied, "I just thought Will and Elizabeth would be married by now. And I'd be getting married soon after that. I'm so ready to be married." She leaned back.

He cleared his throat. "You know…Marana…I am captain of a ship…and being captain of a ship, I could in fact perform a…marriage…right here, right on this deck, right…now." She stood up and walked over to the rail.

"No, thank you." she said sadly.

"Why not?" he teased. "We are very much alike…you and I…I and you…us." He stood close by her.

"Oh, except for a sense of honor and decency and a moral center…and personal hygiene." she retorted.

"Trifles," he smirked. "You will come over to my side, I know it."

"And you can be so sure of that, can you, Jack Sparrow?"

"One, word, love: curiosity." he stood next to her, leaning on the rigging. "You long for freedom. You long to do what you want because you want it, to act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it's like. One day, you won't be able to resist."

"Why doesn't your compass work?" she pressed.

"My compass works fine," he said very proudly.

"Because you and I are alike," she said seductively. "And there will come a moment when you have a chance to show it, to do the right thing."

"I love those moments!" he smiled. "I like to wave at them as they pass by."

She stood at his side, leaning on him a little. "You'll have the chance to do something…something courageous. And when you do you'll discover something: that you're a good man."

"All evidence to the contrary," he smiled.

"I have faith in you, Jack…" she whispered in his ear. "You want to know why?"

"Do tell, me darling," he flirted as he ran his hands along her arms.

"Curiosity," she uttered as she stepped back. "You're going to want it, a chance to be admired and gain the rewards that follow. You won't be able to resist." She stepped closer. "You're going to want to know…what it tastes like…" Her lips came dangerously close to his. Suddenly, Gibbs called out,

"Land ho!" Jack gulped nervously as Marana dashed over to look out at the island they had come to.

"I want my jar of dirt!" Jack hurried into his cabin.


	13. The Dark Side of Ambition

**The Dark Side of Ambition**

Jack, Marana, Elizabeth, James, Pintel, and Ragetti were all shoved into a boat. Pintel and Ragetti rowed. Marana sat with Jack, and Elizabeth with James. Marana didn't look at him. She was pondering over what Jack had said to her.

When they reached the shore, Jack grabbed three shovels and told Pintel and Ragetti, "Guard the boat, mind the tide, and don't touch my dirt."

Together, the four walked through the shallows of the island until they came to the beach. Elizabeth started pacing with the compass. After a while, Marana took it and looked at the dial. It pointed directly at Jack. She groaned heavily and handed it back to Elizabeth. She sat down in the sand.

"This doesn't work," she stated, and plopped down onto the sand next to Marana. "And it certainly doesn't show you what you want most."

Jack got up and stared at the compass. "Yes it does…you're sitting on it!"

"Beg pardon?" the girls asked.

"Move," he waved them away. Marana stood up, and then she and James started digging.

After a while, as Marana was beginning to get exhausted, her spade made a hollow _**thud**_. She and Jack brushed away the sand and pulled up a large trunk. Marana broke the lock with her spade and opened it. Among the dried flowers and old letters was a smaller black chest.

They all leaned in and pressed an ear to the chest. They heard steady _**thump-thump thump-thump**_.

"It's real," marveled Elizabeth.

"You actually were telling the truth," said James.

Jack was surprised, I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised.

"With good reason!" came a voice from the far end of the beach.

"Will!" Elizabeth jumped up and ran to her fiancé. She caught him in a hug and a kiss. "You're alright, thank God! I came to find you!"

Noticing that James looked very unhappy at the thought of his past fiancé, Marana gave him a little peck on the cheek. He looked a bit surprised, but also a little happier.

"How did you get here?" asked Jack.

Will gave a smirk. "Sea turtles, mate…a pair of them strapped to my feet."

"Not so easy, is it?" smiled Jack.

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack."

"You do?"

"After you tricked Marana on that ship to square your debt with Jones and I went in her place…"

"What?" cried Elizabeth.

"What?" Jack imitated her.

"…I was reunited with my father!" Will finished proudly.

"Oh, well, you're welcome, then!" said Jack, forcing a smile.

Elizabeth stormed up to him. "Everything you said to me…every word was a lie!"

"Pretty much…time and tide, love."

He turned and saw Will kneeling before the chest, holding the chest.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill Jones!" he said proudly.

Jack drew his sword. "I can't let you do that, William. 'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, then? Now, if you please, the key." he held out his hand.

Will and Marana quickly pulled out their own swords. "We keep the promises we make, Jack," Marana stated.

Will joined in, "I intend to free my father. I hope you're here to see it."

James pulled out his sword as well. "I can't let you do that either. I'm so sorry."

"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually," Jack smirked.

James aimed his sword at Jack, Jack at Will, Will at James, and Marana in the middle with her blade pointed at Jack. James began,

"Lord Beckett desires the content of that chest. I deliver it, and I get my life back."

"Ah, the dark side of ambition," smiled Jack.

"Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption," said James. At the same time, they all started swinging at each other with their swords. Before Elizabeth could do anything to stop them, a fierce battle had ensued.


	14. Madness

**Madness**

After a while, Jack, Will, Marana, and James had all come deep into the foliage. They were under the ruins of an old church. Jack shoved Will back and gained the key. Marana tried to get it back from him, but he ran into the church. Jack ran up the creaky old stairs, with Marana close behind him. They parried back and forth over the stairs. James came up from behind and grabbed the key from Jack. As Will tried to get it, Marana pushed him back. Instinctively, he grabbed the rope that controlled the bell.

He went up and down, ringing the bell. On his way up, he grabbed the key from James.

Eventually, they all ended up on the roof. They all balanced on the ridgepole, trying to get the key from Will. James struck Jack's sword to the ground and pointed his own at his throat.

"Do excuse me while I kill the man who ruined my life," he said to Marana.

"Be my guest!" she stepped back.

Jack quipped, "Let us examine that claim for a moment, former commodore, shall we? Who was it, that at the very moment you had a notorious pirate and an innocent lady safely behind bars, saw fir to free said pirate and said innocent lady, and take your dearly beloved all to hisself? So whose fault is it really that you've ended up a rum-pot deckhand what takes orders from pirates?"

"Enough!" James yelled. Jack ducked as his sword slashed above his head. He jumped down from the roof, doing a couple somersaults before landing on the ground.

Back up on the ridgepole, Marana and James were in a heated duel, since Marana had the key. She gasped breathlessly, "James…please…we can settle this…without…fighting!" His sword swung right next to her head. Unfortunately, she didn't move in time, and the blade slashed her face, cutting off some of her hair and leaving a long bloody cut across her cheek. Angrily, she fought even harder, holding the key tightly in her free hand. She advanced on him, causing him to jump back onto a giant mill wheel.

Will jumped on as well as the wheel's supports broke and it rolled off onto the ground. It rolled freely toward where Jack was standing. He was caught up in the giant spokes. Marana lost her grip on the key, and it fell onto the inner part of the wheel, where Jack was. Marana jumped down onto the inner wheel and dueled with him. She grabbed the key, and Will snatched it by the string. After a bit of tugging, the string broke and Marana got the key. But then she was hit in the forehead with a metal bar, sending her rolling onto the ground. Jack jumped down next to her. The key had fallen into the wheel again. "Damn it!" she spat angrily.

She stood up quickly, and the two of them ran after the wheel.

When they caught up to it, they jumped into the wheel, where Will and James were still fighting. Marana ripped the key from Will's grasp. She and Jack climbed onto the top of the wheel. Taking his hand, she grabbed a broad leaf from a tree and let the wheel pass underneath them.

She let go and landed on the ground. Noticing one of Davy Jones' crewmen running with the chest in hand, Jack grabbed a coconut and heaved it at the creature, causing its head to fall off. The crewman dropped the chest. Marana kneeled in front of it. Jack sat next to her as she inserted the key into the lock and turned. With a _**click **_the chest opened. Inside lay a beating red heart. _**Thump-thump thump thump-thump.**_Jack lifted it gently. He stared at it for a while. Then Marana noticed some of the _Flying Dutchman_'s crew running at them.

She grabbed the heart from Jack and stuffed it into her pocket. She ran to the boat as fast as she could. When she got there, out of breath, she fumbled around the boat until she found Jack's jar of dirt. She opened the lid and poured some out. Marana dropped the heart in and covered it back up. Just as she closed the jar, it was knocked out of her hand by a sword. She turned and started dueling with a crewman of the _Dutchman_.

As she fought him, Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti came running down the shallows, followed by the rest of the crew. They all joined into one group. Marana's bangs mixed with seawater and the blood on her face. Just as she was about to get stabbed, the mill wheel crushed the crewman she was fighting with. The wheel toppled over onto its side. Will and James staggered out, extremely dizzy.

After a while, Jack, Marana, Will, Pintel, Ragetti, Elizabeth, and James were all cornered near the boat. Will lay unconscious against the boat, having been knocked out by Jack.

The crew moved in on them. "We're not getting out of this," said Elizabeth.

"Not with the chest…into the boat," Marana grabbed the chest.

"You're mad," said Jack.

"Don't wait for me," she replied, running off through the circle of crewmen. James ran after her.

They ran through the thick foliage. Marana tripped and fell flat on her face. She quickly stood up and grabbed it. She faced a tall crewman.

"Your bravery is wasted," the creature said. "I shall pry the chest away from your cold…dead…hands."

"Here you go!" she threw the chest to him, as she and James took off, Marana to the beach.


	15. Abandon Ship

**Abandon Ship**

When Marana got to the beach, she was in tears for a few reasons: her face was still bleeding, she had lost James, and she had almost certainly lost Jack as well. She hid behind a bush as the crew of the _Dutchman _passed her, going back to their ship.

Finally, she realized that she had to try to get back to the _Pearl. _After all, it was pretty close by. She could see it from where she stood. The _Dutchman _was following it, firing on them. She heard the booming sound of the cannons as the _Pearl _was hit. After a while, the _Pearl _overpowered the _Dutchman_. As the cannon fire stopped, she cheered from her spot on the beach.

She was about to jump into the water when she saw something coiling around the ship: large, sucking tentacles that wrapped around the decks, crushing the _Pearl _in its grasp.

"The Kraken…" she muttered.

With no time to lose, she jumped into the ocean. Swimming as fast as she could, she secured the sword onto her waist. She battled with the water. She swallowed a lot of water. She coughed and gagged and could barely breathe.

"Need some help, love?" she heard a deep voice ask. She looked up and saw Jack sitting in a rowboat. He held out his hand. She took it, and he pulled her over the edge and into the boat next to him. She sat coughing for a while, but stopped coughing when she felt Jack's arms coil around her.

Jack pulled Marana to him and buried his face in her hair. She cried a little as she stroked his arms. When she lifted her face from his shoulder, Jack opened his compass. It was pointing at the _Pearl._

"Ready, Marana?" he took one oar.

"I'm ready, Jack." Marana gave him a quick kiss and took the other oar. Together, they rowed as fast as they could.

When they reached the ship, Jack helped Marana climb over the edge. He spotted Elizabeth reaching up to a rifle that lay at the top of the stairs. He stepped over it. She looked up.

Jack bent down and picked up the rifle. He aimed carefully at a net full of gunpowder dangling from the mast. He fired.

The next thing Marana knew, Elizabeth had pulled her down on the deck as the gunpowder exploded. Embers flew everywhere, one of them burning Marana's arm. The tentacles of the Kraken were burned from the flames, and they sank back into the water.

Everyone stood up. Marty asked nervously, "Did we kill it?"

"No," said Gibbs. "We just made it angry. We're not out of this yet. Captain, orders!"

Jack descended the stairs and handed the gun to his first mate. "Abandon ship. Into the longboat." He was clutching Marana's hand.

"But, Jack…the _Pearl_," Marana pleaded with him.

"She's only a ship, my darling." he replied sadly.

"He's right, Marana. We have to head for land." said Elizabeth.

"It's a lot of open water," stated Pintel.

"It's a lot of water," echoed Ragetti.

"We have to try. We can get away as it takes down the _Pearl,_" said Will.

"Aye," Gibbs said grimly. "Abandon ship or abandon hope."

Marana noticed Jack staring out at the sea. She approached him silently. "Jack, I just want you to know that I do love you." He gave her a sad smile.

"Marana, that's what I've been waiting for you to say since I met you. It's sad that you had to say it now, at my saddest moment."

Marana gave him a peck on the cheek and walked up to the stairs, sitting down at the bottom. Elizabeth stepped up to Jack.

"Thank you, Jack," she said.

"We're not free yet, love." he replied sadly.

"You came back. I always knew you were a good man." With that, she stepped even closer and pressed her lips to Jack's. He tried to pull away, but she pushed him slowly backwards, until they reached the mast. When she pulled back, he tried to get to Marana, only finding himself chained to the mast.

"It's after you, not the ship. It's not us. Now, this is the only way, don't you see?" She was about to kiss him again, but reconsidered. "I'm not sorry." she walked over to the rail and climbed down into the boat.

Marana had seen it all. She stood up and walked over to Jack, holding back tears.

"Marana, go get into the boat!" Jack said frantically.

"No, Jack, I love you, and even though we're probably going to die, I want to stay with you."

Jack was almost in tears as he pulled her to him with his free arm. She pulled back, saying, "We need to get you out of that handcuff. He looked around and spotted a lantern. Marana followed his gaze and grabbed it, smashing it against the mast, pouring the oil onto Jack's palm. They both pulled as hard as they could, and eventually it came off.

However, when they turned around, they were face-to-face with the Kraken.

Before Marana could scream or do anything, one of its tentacles coiled around her waist pulling her away from Jack. The beast roared, covering Jack head to toe in slime. Jack's hat fell onto the deck. "Oh!" he picked it up and placed it on his head. He drew his sword. "Hello, beastie."

"Wait, Jack!" the tentacles coiled even tighter around Marana's thin body. When he looked at her, she almost whispered, "I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too, Marana." Jack turned around and charged at the Kraken.

"No, Jack! No!" Before Marana could burst into tears, the Kraken's tentacles sucked the last tiny flicker of life from her.


End file.
